Door latching mechanism



Jan. 12, 1954 Filed Oct. 2, 1950 R. w. HARDWICK 2,665,933 DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM 2 Sheets$heet 1 Fig-2 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a Fig.3

Jan. 12, 1954 Filed Oct. 2, 1950 all IN V EN TOR.

key W, Hardwim A lZ// /////l Patented Jan. 12, 1954 DOOR LATCHING MECHANISM Roy W. Hardwick, Freehold, N. J., assignor of fifty per cent to Frank W. Hardwick, Newark,

Application October 2, 1950, Serial No. 187,996

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic nest openers and more particularly to the provision of time-controlled, electrically operated releasing means for the nest door to permit the latter to swing into an open position.

An important object of the invention is to provide means for locking a plurality of nest doors in closed position and with electrically controlled releasing means to simultaneously open the doors.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electromagnetically operated catch for releasing the door locking mechanism and in which the mechanism is automatically set by the closing of one of the doors.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efiicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a row of nests, showing one of the doors closed for resetting the door releasing mechanism;

Figures 2 and 3 are enlarged vertical sectional views taken respectively on the lines 22 and 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the door locking and releasing mechanism;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the door locking and releasing tube and the catch for one of the doors to reset the releasing mechanism;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one of the springs for opening the doors.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates tiers or rows of nest compartments 6, each tier or row being provided with a single door 1 for closing the several openings to the compartments. The doors I are hinged to the front of the nests by conventional hinge structures 8 for swinging upwardly into a closed position and a wire spring 9 is attached to each door for swinging the same downwardly quickly into an open position.

The door locking and releasing mechanism comprises a barrel or tubular casing H1 recessed in a. vertical position to the front of the rows of nests adjacent the center thereof and secured thereto by straps II. A door looking or releasing tube I2 is slidably mounted in the barrel or casing ID, the inner tube l2 and the outer casing ill being formed with registered openings I3 and M, respectively, at the front thereof.

The upper end of the barrel or casing I0 is provided with a threaded cap l5 and a coil spring I 6 is held under tension between the cap and the upper end of the inner tube H2.

The uppermost door, indicated at I1, is provided with a rigid catch I8 having an inclined upper edge l9 which raises the inner tube l2 as the catch enters the opening [3 thereof by a raising movement of the door [1, in a manner as will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 5 of the drawings. The remaining doors I are provided with pivoted spring actuated catches 20 to enter an adjacent opening l3 of the inner tube I2 after the latter has been moved into its raised position by the catch Hi, the doors thus being held in a locked position by reason of the engagement of the catches with the inner tube.

An electromagnet 2| is enclosed in a housing,

22 at the lower end of barrel or casing l0 and controls a pivoted catch 23 engaged in a slot 24 in the lower end of inner tube l2 to hold the inner tube in its raised position. The catch 23 is moved into engagement in the slot 24 by spring means: (not shown) and is released from the slot when the electromagnet H is energized to release the: inner tube [2 which is then moved downwardly by spring It. A stop 25 underlies the lower end of the inner tube 52 to limit its downward movement and to ,hold the openings I3 in position for entering the catches l8 and 20 therein.

A push-button type switch 26 is connected in the circuit with the electromagnet 2| and is positioned in the path of closing movement of one of the doors I to close the switch for the magnet. The magnet is also connected with a conventional type of electric time control mechanism (not shown) to energize the magnet at a predetermined time of day.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A door locking mechanism comprising an elongated tube having closed upper and lower ends, a locking plunger slidably disposed within said tube, a spring seated in the upper end of said tube and urging the plunger downwardly, a spring urged catch in the lower end of said tube engaging the lower end of said plunger and aeeaess the catch and forcing the same outwardly frol fl' the aligned apertures. U

2. A door locking mechanism cementing an elongated tube having closedupper andlower ends, a locking plunger slidably idisptise'd wlthifi said tube, a spring seated in the upper end of said tube and urging the plunger downwardly, a

spring urged catch in the lov'vi' eh'ddi' saiatute engaging the lower end of said plunger endspre-v venting downward movement of the plunger, said Pubeend un h i a i d e erts fi r i a p un ran ui bei g s aller than a d tube. pe t e.- .a eer1et9h 9vea 1 nt s i 'p w e i a am, s ped upp uras a a ee ns ema Seating agains the inner surface of said p1uiiger, ineans for automatically releasing said catch, said plunger engaging said latch cam surface upon release of the catch and forcing the same outwardly from the aligned apertures, said catch comprising a pivoted lever, movement of said latch into said apertures moving said plunger upwardly against theacticn of said spring and causing said catch tb engage the lower end of said plunger.

ROY W. HARDWICK.

'ft'ef ereiices Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 273,622 Sfhith Mar. 6, 1883 350512 Markland Oct. 5, 1886 4,8( Gerstmann July 28, 1896 70%;3 72 Beisel July 1, 1902 985,142 Carter Feb. 28, 1911 990,446 .2 Apr. 25, 1911 131669193 Scihlh'itfi et al. June 24, 1930 1855,5225 Bales Apr. 17, 1934 159583949 oavanau' n-et a1. May 15, 1934 

